Yesterday my grandson, Jordy, called me up and said, "Grama, I've got some snakes for you."
Now, I'm sure most folks wouldn't think that was such a grand thing for an Easter present for a grama of my caliber. (I spoil my grandchildren with abandon). And for the most part, I hate snakes! Goes back to the Garden of Eden thing, I suppose. HOWEVER...
when Jordy called with his announcement, I was elated. He knew I wanted some snakes. When we went to the pet store to purchase some little white mice to feed his 4-foot Python, I had asked the clerk if they had any snakes for sale. She said, "Not yet, we don't have much call for them at this time of year."
So you see? I'm not the only one who wants snakes. It just wasn't the right time of year for supply to meet demand. But Jordy is an explorer. He's an adventurer and yesterday he went out back after our Sunday ham, scalloped potatoes and broccoli casserole dinner. And he went exploring. Beneath a bunch of debris, he found a family of garter snakes. He captured two of them. One was actually one-foot long.
I, not being one to play with snakes, was a bit edgy about how to release them into my yard. My older grandson, Ryan, instructed that I turn the coffee can upside down on the spot in the yard I wanted to release them and leave the can on top of them. That way they wouldn't scatter and slither away. Well, I took his advice.
This morning I dug a big hole in the center of my compost pile and plopped my new-found friends into the hole and covered the can, snakes and all. Now, hopefully in a few days, I'll be able to start distributing my compost without the threat of grubworms eating my tender plants.
Garter snakes are suppose to enjoy feasting on grubworms. And since my grubworms are the size of my index finger, I'm sure my snakes will be quite satisfied. I hope so. I'd hate for them to leave my yard for my neighbor's greener lawn.
Afraid of snakes? Not really. Just the poisonous ones. The others are created to balance the eco system. Don't like my way? Well, I asked for suggestions to get rid of my grubworm infestation. Where were you two weeks ago? [copyrighted, selahV today, 2007]
